Rig Veda 5.71.2: Mandala 5, Sukta 71, Mantra 2
Sukta 5.71
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
विश्वस्य हि प्रचेतसा वरुण मित्र राजथः । ईशाना पिप्यतं धियः ॥
viśvásya hí prá-cetasā varuṇa mítra rājathaḥ | īśānā́ pipyatáṃ dhíyaḥ ||
Hai đấng—Varuṇa và Mitra—quả là những bậc vương giả thấu biết rộng khắp của muôn loài. Với tư cách bậc chủ tể, xin làm cho tư niệm (dhī) của chúng con nở đầy sung mãn, khiến trí tuệ được no đủ bằng sự phong nhiêu chân chính.
Word by Word
- विश्वस्य
- of all, of the whole (world)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation) / अधिकरण-सम्बन्धः (with ‘प्रचेतसा’)Root विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableअव्ययRole सम्बन्ध/वाक्य-सम्बन्ध (emphasis/justification)Root हि (निपात)
- प्रचेतसा
- O two wise/foreknowing onesAdjective (dual, vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; द्विवचनRole सम्बोधन (addressed to the deities)Root प्र-चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘forethought, wisdom’)
- वरुण
- O VaruṇaNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वरुण (देवनाम; प्रातिपदिक)
- मित्र
- O MitraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot मित्र (देवनाम; प्रातिपदिक)
- राजथः
- you two rule, reignVerbलट् (वर्तमान); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (मुख्य क्रिया)Root √राज् (राजँ दीप्तौ/ऐश्वर्ये) धातु
- ईशाना
- O two sovereign/lordly onesAdjective (dual, vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; द्विवचनRole सम्बोधन (epithet of Varuṇa–Mitra)Root ईशान (प्रातिपदिक; ‘ruling, possessing power’)
- पिप्यतम्
- may you two make (them) thrive; prosper (them)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आदेश/प्रार्थना)Root √प्यै/√पि (प्यायँ वृद्धौ ‘to swell, thrive, prosper’) धातु
- धियः
- insights, prayers, thoughtsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्म (of ‘पिप्यतम्’)Root धि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘thought, insight, prayer’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: विश्वस्य । हि । प्रचेतसा । वरुण । मित्र । राजथः । ईशाना । पिप्यतम् । धियः ॥ 1) ‘विश्वस्य हि’—no external sandhi change (visarga not present; simple hiatus). 2) ‘प्रचेतसा वरुण मित्र’—vocatives in apposition
- final visarga-like ḥ is the verbal ending -थः. 4) ‘पिप्यतम् धियः’—object ‘धियः’ (nom. pl. used as subject-like in Vedic, but here best taken as कर्म of causative/benefactive sense ‘make the prayers thrive’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
“For you, Varuṇa and Mitra, are the wide-aware rulers of all; as masters, make our thoughts swell—fill our inspirations.”
Inner meaning
Mitra-Varuṇa are invoked as pra-cetasā: expansive consciousness that knows the right law of things. Their kingship is inner governance—bringing the mind under luminous order. The request ‘pipyatam dhiyaḥ’ is for the dhī (inspired intelligence) to be increased, made abundant, and rightly directed—so thought becomes a vessel of truth rather than a tool of desire.
Universal truth
When consciousness aligns with truth and harmony, thinking becomes fertile and luminous; wisdom is not mere information but an inner abundance governed by right order.
Themes
Divine kingship, Increase of insight, Knowledge-prayer
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 5.71.1, Rig Veda 5.71.3
Family tradition
Ātreya emphasis on dhī and governance: the mind must be enlarged and ordered to host the gods.
Significance
Atri’s yoga is cognitive-spiritual: expansion of consciousness (pracetas) and enrichment of dhī as a core means of transformation.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Epithets
- pra-cetasā (wide-aware), rājathah (rulers), īśānā (masters)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (lord of inspired speech), Sarasvatī (flow of inspiration), Indra (illumined mind-force)
Cosmic role
Sovereigns of ṛta governing the cosmos: Varuṇa as vast law and truth-binding; Mitra as harmony, consent, and right measure between powers.
Inner power
They establish inner kingship: disciplined truthfulness, harmonious integration, and expansion of awareness that makes thought luminous and effective.
In ritual
Where it is used
Praise/invocation to Mitra-Varuṇa as rulers; used to support right performance and right mind of the sacrificer.
विश्व॑स्य॒ हि प्र॑चेतसा॒ वरु॑ण॒ मित्र॒ राज॑थः । ई॒शा॒ना पि॑प्यतं॒ धिय॑: ॥
विश्व॑स्य । हि । प्र॒ऽचे॒त॒सा॒ । वरु॑ण । मित्र॑ । राज॑थः । ई॒शा॒ना । पि॒प्य॒त॒म् । धियः॑ ॥
viśvasya | hi | pra-cetasā | varuṇa | mitra | rājathaḥ | īśānā | pipyatam | dhiyaḥ
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3×8
Bright and expansive; each pāda feels like an opening of space.
Encourages mental wideness and clarity; supports concentration without constriction.
- विश्वस्य (viśvasya)
- Literal: of all, of the universe. Symbolic: Totality of the being—every part brought under conscious governance
- प्रचेतसा (pra-cetasā)
- Literal: wide-aware, possessing expanded intelligence. Symbolic: Vast consciousness that sees causes, consequences, and the right measure
- राजथः (rājathaḥ)
- Literal: you two rule. Symbolic: Inner sovereignty: mastery over mind-life impulses through truth and harmony
- ईशाना (īśānā)
- Literal: lords, masters. Symbolic: Powers of control that do not repress but rightly order
- धियः (dhiyaḥ)
- Literal: thoughts, inspirations. Symbolic: Illumined intelligence (dhī) capable of receiving higher light
- पिप्यतम् (pipyatam)
- Literal: make swell, fill, make abundant. Symbolic: Increase of luminous content—clarity, right discernment, inspired seeing
Stimulation of dhī (inspired thought) in the soma rite; also an inner-knowledge prayer for the growth of right understanding under sovereign cosmic powers.
During sequences honoring Ādityas; when establishing the ‘right mind’ (dhī) for the rite.
Stuti (praise) plus request for increased inspiration.
Before study, decision-making, or meditation: chant to invoke wide awareness and truthful, harmonious thinking.
pra-cétas- from pra- ‘forward/wide’ + cetas ‘consciousness’ from √cit ‘perceive, know’ (PIE *ḱei- ‘notice’). rājathaḥ from √rāj ‘to rule, shine’ (kingship/sovereignty). īśāna from √īś ‘to own, be master’. pipyatam intensive from √pyā ‘to swell, increase’ (cf. pīvan ‘fat/full’). dhī- from √dhī ‘to think, conceive’.
Sovereignty (rāj-), Expanded consciousness (pra-cetas), Growth of dhī (inspired intelligence)
Their rulership is the cosmic enforcement of ṛta; the human dhī must be filled to participate in that order.
Varuṇa’s satya binds thought to reality; removes self-deception.
Cosmos sustained by conscious law; in the microcosm, thought must be made abundant and aligned to sustain inner creation.
Vedic psychology of consciousness-powers; anticipates Upaniṣadic emphasis on knowledge as transformation.
Vastness becomes widened awareness; bond becomes integration among inner parts; rulership becomes self-mastery under truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is ‘sovereign omniscience that fills the mind’: Mitra-Varuṇa as all-ruling, wide-aware kings who can expand and complete human dhī. It is the descent of truth-governance into mentality.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √rāj ‘rule/shine’ ties sovereignty with luminosity, an old IE association (kingship as radiance). √cit ‘perceive’ is a deep Indo-European cognitive root family, and the compound pra-cetasā illustrates inherited compounding strategies for abstract qualities.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi seeks not objects but a transformation of cognition: dhī must be ‘made full’. The gods’ role is pedagogic and sovereign—by their mastery they enlarge the human instrument so it can hold ṛta-consciousness.
Widen awareness (pracetas) and invite inner sovereignty: let thoughts be filled with truth and right relation.
Ājñā (clarity/insight) with Sahasrāra support (wideness).
Box-breath 4-4-4-4 for three rounds, then chant once per long exhale to ‘fill’ dhī.
From narrow, reactive thinking to spacious, governed intelligence.
After chanting, observe one thought-stream; ask: ‘Is this in truth (Varuṇa)? Is this in harmony (Mitra)?’ Let what fails dissolve; keep what aligns and act from it.
Gāyatrī with Vedic accents; keep the phrase ‘viśvasya hi pracetasā’ flowing as one widening arc.
Slight emphasis on pracetasā, rājathaḥ, īśānā, pipyatam, dhiyaḥ; avoid over-stressing ‘hi’.
: ‘pra-ce-ta-sā’—clear dental t, : long ī and ā; do not shorten vowels, : ‘dhi-yaḥ’—dh voiced aspirate; final ḥ soft
Open-throated, calm, resonant.
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